- published: 11 Jul 2012
- views: 15570
Mathematics and art have a long historical relationship. The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks knew about the golden ratio, regarded as an aesthetically pleasing ratio, and incorporated it into the design of monuments including the Great Pyramid, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. There are many examples of artists who have been inspired by mathematics and studied mathematics as a means of complementing their works. The Greek sculptor Polykleitos prescribed a series of mathematical proportions for carving the ideal male nude. Renaissance painters turned to mathematics and many, including Piero della Francesca, became accomplished mathematicians themselves.
Galileo Galilei in his Il Saggiatore wrote that “[The universe] is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures.” Artists who strive and seek to study nature must therefore first fully understand mathematics. On the other hand, mathematicians have sought to interpret and analyse art through the lens of geometry and rationality.